Sharks Beat Punchless Penguins, 2-1

And I thought goaltending might be the Penguins problem last night.

As it turned out, in the Penguins lifeless 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks at the Shark Tank, Dany Sabourin was the least of the Penguins worries. Sabourin looked pretty good in stopping 32 of 34 San Jose shots.

Too bad the Penguins couldn't put up even 1/3rd of that number.

The Penguins launched 11 whole shots at Sharks netminder Evgeni Nabokov, and only put one behind him -- by Ruslan Fedotenko in the 3rd period. Sure, Sidney Crosby hit a crossbar and Evgeni Malkin missed the net on a glorious chance after a Sharks giveaway in the first period. But the Penguins simply aren't going to win many games generating that little offense.

In some ways, the game last night reminded me of the first 2 games of the Stanley Cup Final last year against Detroit. The Sharks are a good team. They skate very well and are skilled enough to play a puck-possession game. They're also good defensively, though. They deserve some credit for stifiling the Penguins. They made it hard for the flightless birds to generate offense. It wasn't until the late stages of the game when the Penguins turned up the intensity. When they did, they showed they can cause problems for the opposition. When they don't, their talent means nothing.

The Penguins' failure to bring their lunch pails last night also cost them power play chances. They only had 2 for the entire game -- one of which was partially negated by a penalty of their own. When it's a struggle to generate 5-on-5 offense, you can't make those mistakes. You have to work hard to earn penalties and when you do, you have to capitalize. Let the power play and your goaltending win you a game like that.

Hal Gill missed his 3rd straight game last night. Surprisingly, center Max Talbot also missed the contest. His injury was not disclosed. Coach Michel Therrein moved Tyler Kennedy to center and inserted Paul Bissonette into the lineup.

The Penguins will practice in San Jose today before departing for Phoenix, who they play Thursday.

For as much as I love late night games, I hate late night losses.

Let's hope we don't see another one then.